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AT TECH
Heisman Trophy runner-up and one of the nations most exciting players . . . Multi-talented signal caller who is equally dangerous as a passer or runner and has the ability to turn any play into a big play . . . Combines slippery moves with an excellent arm and compensates for lack of height by finding throwing lanes . . . Led the Jackets to an 18-5 record over his last 23 games, including a share of the 1998 ACC Championship . . . Guided Tech to three consecutive bowl berths for the first time since the 1970-71-72 seasons and earned Most Valuable Player honors in both Tech wins . . . Played in the Senior Bowl following his senior season . . . Drafted in the seventh round (234th pick) by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Atlantic Coast Conferences all-time leader in total offense with 10,640 yards, which ranks among the Top 10 in NCAA history . . . Shattered the record of 9,296 yards set by former Tech quarterback Shawn Jones . . . The first player in NCAA Division I-A history to top 10,000 total yards with 1,500 rushing yards . . . Has the highest career pass efficiency rating in ACC history at 148.2, breaking the record of former FSU signal caller Thad Busby (144.89) . . . Also the ACCs all-time leader in touchdown passes with 65 and touchdown responsibility with 83 (tied with Virginias Shawn Moore) while ranking fourth in passing yards (8,882) . . . Ranks third in ACC history in rushing yards by a quarterback.
Has rewritten the Tech record book and is now the schools career leader in total offense, TDR, passing yards and touchdown passes, bettering Shawn Jones standard in each category . . . Owns the school record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 1,758 yards, which ranks ninth on Techs career rushing list . . . Also set school records for career passing efficiency, completion percentage, yards per completions and yards per attempt.
Engineered fourth-quarter, game-saving drives seven times over the last two seasons, against 16th-ranked Georgia, Duke and North Carolina in 1999, and versus No. 17 Notre Dame, No. 12 Georgia, No. 6 Virginia and Clemson in 1998.
1999
Runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, finishing second to Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne . . . Equalled quarterback Billy Lothridge (second to Roger Stauback in 1963) for the highest finish ever by a Tech player . . . Consensus first-team all-America quarterback . . . Winner of the Davey OBrien National Quarterback Award, the first Georgia Tech player to win a national position award . . . Earned first-team all-America honors from Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp and Football News, along with second-team accolades by The Sporting News . . . The 46th first-team all-America player in school history and the 18th Yellow Jacket but first quarterback to earn consensus all-America honors . . . A finalist for the Maxwell Award and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (senior quarterback) . . . Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, the first Yellow Jacket to be so honored . . . First-team all-ACC (unanimous selection) for the second straight year.
Second in the nation in passing efficiency with a rating of 175.0 . . . Led the nation for the entire season until he was overtaken by Virginia Techs Michael Vick in the final week . . . Still finished with the sixth-best season rating in NCAA history . . . Also second in the nation in total offense with 344.9 yards per game . . . Completed 67 percent of his passes with 29 touchdowns and 35 TDR while directing a unit that led the nation in total offense (509.0) and was second in scoring (40.7) . . . Set Georgia Tech and ACC season records for total offense (3,794), TDR (35), passing efficiency (175.0) and yards per attempted pass (10.03) . . . Also shattered the Tech season records for touchdown passes with 29 (second in ACC history), passing yards with 3,060 (seventh in ACC), completion percentage (.666), completions (203) and rushing yards by a quarterback . . . Techs second-leading rusher with 734 yards (4.8 yards per carry) and six touchdowns . . . His 734 yards rushing is the most in NCAA Division I-A history by a 3,000-yard passer.
Spectacular in his final game at Bobby Dodd Stadium/Grant Field as he led the Yellow Jackets to an epic 51-48 overtime victory over arch-rival Georgia . . . Threw four touchdown passes and totalled 435 yards of total offense and engineered a fourth-quarter, game-saving drive for the seventh time in the last two seasons . . . Completed 22 of 32 passes for 341 yards, including scoring strikes of 47, 17, five and six yards, while rushing 15 times for 94 yards . . . After Georgia took a 48-41 lead with five minutes left, Hamilton guided the Jackets on a seven-play, 68-yard drive for the game tying score . . . Completed passes of 15 yards to Will Glover and 32 yards to Dez White before hitting Glover for a six-yard touchdown to set up Techs overtime heroics.
Turned in the most prolific game of his career, and one of the best in school history, in Techs 41-35 defeat at top-ranked Florida State . . . Had career highs with 387 yards passing, four touchdown passes, 405 yards of total offense and five TDR . . . Completed 22 of 25 passesincluding his last 15 attemptsand threw touchdown passes of 80, 56, 22 and 11 yards and also rushed for a 19-yard touchdown . . . His 80-yard strike to Dez White is the longest completion of his career . . . Hit Kelly Campbell for a 22-yard scoring pass with 1:35 left in the game that brought the Jackets to within a touchdown . . . His 387 yards passing ranks second to Darrell Gast, who had 416 yards passing in a 1987 loss to Duke . . . His four touchdown passes are one shy of the school record of five, set by Eddie McAshan vs. Rice in 1972, while his five TDR tie McAshans record . . . Despite the loss, was chosen ACC Offensive Back of the Week.
Tied the Georgia Tech record with five touchdown passes and collected 410 yards of total offensethe most ever by an individual against the Clemson defenseto lead the Yellow Jackets to a 45-42 victory over the Tigers . . . Completed 22 of 30 passes for 322 yards with touchdown passes of 28, 42, 12, nine and three yards while rushing for 88 yards on 19 carries . . . Earned his third ACC Offensive Back of the Week award.
Guided Tech to a come-from-behind overtime win over North Carolina . . . Taking over at the Tech two-yard line with 1:10 to play, Hamilton moved the Jackets in position for the tying field goal with three completions for 73 yards and a six-yard run . . . Then scored the winning touchdown in overtime on a six-yard run . . . Had 350 yards of total offense in the game with touchdown passes of 47 and 59 yards.
Added more fourth-quarter heroics the following week as he directed Tech to 10 points in the final seven minutes of a 38-31 win over Duke . . . After the Blue Devils took a 31-28 lead early in the fourth quarter, he moved Tech in position for the tying field goal with 7:12 left and then drove the Jackets 70 yards on four plays for the winning touchdown with 2:56 to play . . . Opened the winning drive with a 36-yard completion to Kelly Campbell . . . Passed for 324 yards and two touchdowns on a career-high 23 completions (34 attempts) . . .Also rushed for 63 yards and amassed 387 yards of total offense.
Set a school-record with 474 yards of total offense in 49-31 win over Maryland, shattering the previous mark of 412 yards (Darrell Gast vs. Duke, 1987) . . . Equalled his career high with 387 yards passing as he completed 19 of 31 passes, including touchdowns of 80, 30 and 29 yards . . . Also rushed for 87 yards, including a 41-yard scoring run . . . Had 257 yards passing at halftime, a Tech record for passing yards in the first half . . . Threw two touchdown passes in the final 1:21 of the first half . . . Named ACC Offensive Back of the Week.
Led Tech to a convincing 48-21 win over NC State as he threw three touchdown passes and accounted for 295 yards of offense in just three quarters of play . . . Completed 16 of 26 passes for 212 yards with TD passes of three, 11 and 39 yards and rushed for 83 yards. Accounted for three touchdowns and became just the second quarterback in school history with 100 yards passing and 100 yards rushing in a game in Techs 41-10 victory over Central Florida . . . Completed 12 of 18 passes for 161 yards while rushing 12 times for a career-high 100 yards . . . Rushed for touchdowns of nine and six yards and tossed a six-yard touchdown pass while guiding the Tech offense to 494 yards of total offense . . . Completed his first three passes of the game to extend his school-record streak to 18 consecutive completions.
Opened the season by leading the Jackets to a 49-14 win at Navy as he passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another while guiding the Tech offense to 487 total yards . . . Completed 12 of 17 passes (71 percent) for 139 yards, including touchdown passes of 40 yards to Joe Burns and six yards to Kerry Watkins while scoring on a 10-yard run.
1998
First-team all-ACC quarterback who directed the ACCs highest scoring offense that averaged 35.5 points per game, which ranked 13th in the nation and is Techs best figure since 1921 . . . The ACCs leading passer with an efficiency rating of 141.7, including 146.3 in ACC games . . . Ranked 26th in the nation in passing efficiency and 28th in total offense . . . Passed for a school-record 17 touchdowns while rushing for four more scores . . . Total of 21 TDR (rushing and passing) is also a school record . . . Engineered fourth-quarter, come-from-behind victories over sixth-ranked Virginia, 12th-ranked Georgia and Clemson as well as the game-winning drive against Notre Dame . . . Passed for 2,166 yards while completing 56 percent of his passes (145-259).
Led Tech to a 35-28 win over Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl, sharing the MVP honors with split end Dez White . . . Completed 13 of 20 passes for 237 yards and three touchdowns against the Fighting Irish . . . Also caught a five-yard touchdown pass from tailback Joe Burns . . . Hit White for second-half touchdown passes of 44 and 55 yards, the latter the game-winner with 7:55 left to cap a 91-yard, nine-play drive.
Helped the Jackets end a seven-year losing streak to arch-rival Georgia by leading Tech to 14 fourth-quarter points . . . Ran for a two-point conversion that pulled Tech within 19-15 with 13 minutes left, and then on Techs decisive drive, he rushed three times for 23 yards and completed a 13-yard pass down to the Georgia 19 to set up the winning field goal . . . Also threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Kelly Campbell for Techs first score . . . Led Tech to its highest point total since 1921 with a 63-35 victory over Wake Forest, when he completed 14 of 19 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns.
Passed for 288 yards and three touchdowns in Techs 41-38 win over sixth-ranked Virginia . . . Led the Jackets back from a 21-point deficit in the second half despite suffering a sprained knee in the first half . . . Connected with Dez White for touchdowns of 69, 34 and 54 yards, the latter the game-winner with 4:40 left . . . Engineered a 57-yard, seven-play drive for the game-winning touchdown against Clemson with 1:00 left . . . After Tech took over on its own 47-yard line with 2:30 left, he completed three passes for 53 yards and then ran for three yards to the one-yard line to set up the winning score . . . Named ACC Offensive Back of the Week after leading Tech to a 43-21 win over North Carolina, the most points against UNCs defense since 1989 . . . Completed 14 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns against the Tar Heels while rushing for 59 yards . . . Added 290 yards of total offense and three touchdown passes in a 41-13 win over Duke as he hit 20 of 32 passes for 259 yards and rushed for 31 yards . . . Led Tech to a victory over Maryland despite playing with a painful hip pointer, suffered the previous game against Florida State.
1997
Named the Yellow Jackets Most Valuable Player for 1997 . . . Set school records for passing efficiency (146.6), completion percentage (64.6) and total offense (2,792) while his figure of 2,314 yards passing was just 83 yards behind the Tech record . . . Ranked third in the ACC and 17th nationally in passing efficiency . . . Second in the ACC and 21st in the nation in total offense, averaging 253.8 yards per game . . . Accounted for 17 touchdowns with 12 passing and five rushing . . . Completion percentage of .646 was the fifth best season mark in ACC history, while his efficiency rating was 10th best . . . Threw 12 touchdown passes with just seven interceptions . . . Finished the season with a string of 115 straight passing attempts without an interception, from the North Carolina game through the Carquest Bowl . . . Techs second-leading rusher with 478 yards on 140 carries (3.4 average) and five touchdowns.
Most Valuable Player in Techs 35-30 victory over West Virginia in the Carquest Bowl . . . Responsible for 356 yards of total offense, a Tech record for bowl games, and three touchdowns . . . Completed 19 of 36 passes for 274 yards and one touchdown while rushing 15 times for 82 yards and two more scores . . . Threw a three-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mike Lillie and scored on runs of 30 and nine yards.
One of the hottest quarterbacks in the nation over the final four regular season games, when he averaged 339.3 yards of total offense per game . . . Passed for 1,172 yards (293.0 per game) and six touchdowns while completing 71.2 percent of his passes (79-111) . . . Also rushed for 185 yards and two touchdowns for 1,357 yards of total offense for the four-game stretch . . . Recorded two of the top five, and five of the top 10, offensive performances in school history, led by 368 yards of total offense against Virginia (third) . . . Also accumulated 364 against NC State (fifth), 356 against West Virginia (sixth), 348 against Maryland (eighth) and 331 versus Georgia (10th) . . . His 368 yards against Virginia was bettered only by Darrell Gasts school-record 412 yards against Duke in 1987 and Mike Kelleys 376 vs. Navy in 1979.
Passed for a career-high 337 yards against Virginia while rushing for 31 yards . . . Completed 21 of 26 passes (80.8 percent) for one touchdown and no interceptions . . . Connected with Derrick Steagall for a 74-yard touchdown that was the longest completion of his career . . . Earned his second ACC Offensive Back of the Week award for his performance in Techs win over Maryland . . . Threw three touchdowns and accounted for 348 yards of total offense against the Terrapins . . . Completed 17 of 21 passes (81 percent) for 265 yards, hitting Harvey Middleton for touchdown passes of four and 21 yards and Derrick Steagall for 44 yards . . . Also rushed for a game-high 83 yards on just 10 carries . . . Totalled 331 yards against 14th-ranked Georgia with 276 yards passing (19-34 completions) and 55 yards rushing . . . Led Tech to a go-ahead touchdown with just 48 seconds left in the game.
Guided Tech to a win over NC State and was named ACC Offensive Back of the Week . . . Passed for 293 yards against the Wolfpack and rushed for 71 yards, scoring the winning touchdown on an 18-yard run with 5:34 left . . . Completed 22 of 30 passes for 294 yards and two touchdowns against Duke while rushing for 16 yards and another score . . . Accounted for 185 of Techs 186 yards of total offense against fifth-ranked North Carolina with 158 yards passing and 27 yards rushing.
Rushed for a career-high 89 yards on just five carries against Boston College, including a 61-yard touchdown run for the longest gain of his career . . . Overcame a slow start against Wake Forest and guided the Jackets to 21 straight points over a 21-minute stretch in the third and fourth quarters in the 28-26 victory . . . Completed 11 of 14 passes for 148 yards in the second half, including a career-best three touchdown passes as he hit Harvey Middleton for 23 yards, Derrick Steagall for seven yards and Ed Wilder for 18 yards . . . Showed remarkable efficiency on third down plays, completing nine of 11 passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns while rushing three times for 16 yards . . . Finished the game with 19 completions on 27 attempts for 208 yards passing . . . Passed for 118 yards on just 10 completions and rushed for 45 yards and Techs only touchdown in the season opener at Notre Dame.
1996
Runner-up for the ACC Rookie of the Year Award, finishing second to North Carolina cornerback Dré Bly . . . Won a league-high four ACC Rookie of the Week awards . . . Posted the second-best completion percentage in the ACC, completing 57.4 percent of his passes . . . Ranked fourth in the league in passing efficiency with a rating of 115.87 . . . Passed for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns while completing 108 of 188 passes . . . Also netted 248 yards rushing (third on the team) with three touchdowns . . . Recorded 1,590 yards of total offense, averaging 159.0 yards per game.
Made his first start in the season opener against NC State and was named ACC Rookie of the Week as he directed Tech to a 28-16 win . . . Completed eight of nine passes for 74 yards and one touchdown and added 39 yards rushing on nine attempts . . . In the third quarter with Tech leading 21-16, he engineered an 11-play, 66-yard touchdown drive . . . Made three key third-down conversions, scrambling five yards on third-and-four and 15 yards on third-and-five and completing a 10-yard pass on third-and-seven . . . Earned Rookie of the Week honors again the following week against Wake Forest, when he completed 18 of 24 passes for 227 yards and rushed for 23 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown run on the final play of the first half . . . Rebounded from a subpar performance against North Carolina with an outstanding game in Techs 48-22 win over Duke and won his third Rookie award in four games . . . Played only the first half but completed 15 of 19 passes for 207 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions . . . Connected with Harvey Middleton for touchdown strikes of 19 and 63 yards . . . Hit 13 of 19 passes for 180 yards while rushing for 48 more yards against Clemson . . . Threw a 39-yard touchdown pass and rushed for another score on an 11-yard run . . . Rallied Tech from a 21-10 halftime deficit with two third-quarter touchdown drives . . . Sat out the Central Florida game with a bruised knee.
Completed 20 of 37 passes for 228 yards, all season bests, against Maryland, including a 31-yard touchdown pass . . . Had a season-high 293 yards of total offense against Navy to earn his fourth ACC Rookie of the Week award . . . Passed for 211 yards and two touchdowns against the Midshipmen and added a season-best 82 yards rushing on 14 attempts . . . Had a 54-yard run that was Techs longest run from scrimmage all season and set up his own 18-yard touchdown run . . . Tossed touchdown passes of 16 and 19 yards . . . Did not start the season finale against Georgia due to a sprained ankle but was pressed into action when backup Brandon Shaw was injured.
HIGH SCHOOL
Named the South Carolina prep Player of the Year by Jeff Whitakers Deep South Football, which gave him a 10.0 rating . . . Selected Mid-Atlantic Offensive Player of the Year by SuperPreps, which tabbed him the No. 3 player in South Carolina . . . Named to Blue Chips Illustrated Dream Team all-America squad . . . Ranked the No. 1 athlete in the ACC Region by Blue Chips . . . . Tabbed the nations No. 5 combination running-passing quarterback by National Recruiting Advisor . . . Rated the No. 28 prospect in the Mid-Atlantic Region by Tom Lemming Report . . . Spectacular senior season at Macedonia High School, completing 99 of 176 passes for 17 touchdowns and, amazingly, no interceptions . . . Also ran for 500 yards . . . Starting quarterback for South Carolina in the North-South Shrine Bowl . . . Two-time all-state selection who was twice named the Low Country Player of the Year . . . Three-time all-region honoree . . . Threw for 1,192 yards and 19 touchdowns as a junior . . . For his career, completed 340 of 639 passes for 5,425 yards and 67 touchdowns while rushing for 1,858 yards and 32 scores on 374 carries . . . Four-year letterwinner and three-time team captain for coach Phillip Morgan . . . Chose Tech over Nebraska . . . Also a two-time all-state point guard in basketball . . . Led Macedonia to an 11-1 record in 1994.
PERSONAL
Full name is Joseph Fitzgerald Hamilton . . . Born March 13, 1977 . . . Parents are Joseph and Ginger Hamilton . . . Majoring in History, Technology and Society . . . Cousin of freshman receiver Roderick Middleton . . . Also related by marriage to former Tech receiver, Harvey Middleton; Joes aunt is married to Harveys uncle, and the pair grew up just a few miles apart and were teammates at Macedonia High School . . . Served as Grand Marshall of the Opening Ceremonies of the 1999 Georgia Special Olympics Winter Games.
JOE HAMILTONS GAME-BY-GAME STATISTICS PASSING RUSHING TOTAL OFF 1996 Cmp-Att Int Yds TD LP S Att Yds TD LP Ply Yds TDR NC State 8- 9 1 74 1 20 1 9 39 0 15 18 113 1 Wake Forest 18- 24 0 227 0 34 0 9 23 1 12 33 250 1 N. Carolina 4- 14 3 62 0 26 4 16 42 0 24 30 104 0 Duke 15- 19 0 207 2 63 1 1 (-8) 0 20 199 2 Virginia 12- 23 2 88 0 19 1 10 18 0 12 33 106 0 Clemson 13- 19 0 180 1 39 0 13 48 1 11 32 228 2 Central Florida DNPINJURED Florida State 4- 11 1 30 0 10 2 3 (-5) 0 4 14 25 0 Maryland 20- 37 3 228 1 31 4 16 9 0 6 53 237 1 Navy 11- 23 2 211 2 42 4 14 82 1 54 37 293 3 Georgia 3- 9 1 35 0 21 1 4 0 0 2 13 35 01997 Cmp-Att Int Yds TD LP S Att Yds TD LP Ply Yds TDR Notre Dame 10- 21 2 118 0 26 4 15 45 1 14 36 163 1 Wake Forest 19- 27 1 208 3 30 1 8 31 0 9 35 239 3 Clemson 11- 22 1 177 1 39 1 8 9 0 11 30 186 1 Boston College 9- 14 1 105 1 28 1 5 89 1 61 19 194 2 NC State 21- 30 0 293 0 45 2 16 71 1 19 46 364 1 Florida State 9- 18 1 83 0 30 3 13 21 0 9 31 104 0 N. Carolina 15- 25 1 158 1 44 4 19 27 0 15 44 185 1 Virginia 21- 26 0 337 1 74 5 14 31 0 17 40 368 1 Duke 22- 30 0 294 2 61 1 13 16 1 8 43 310 3 Maryland 17- 21 0 265 3 47 1 10 83 0 28 31 348 3 Georgia 19- 34 0 276 0 54 2 19 55 1 13 53 331 1 W. Virginia# 19- 36 0 274 1 34 2 14 82 2 30 50 356 3
1998 Cmp-Att Int Yds TD LP S Att Yds TD LP Ply Yds TDR Boston College 15- 29 1 227 2 36 3 14 25 1 13 43 252 3 NMSU 5- 14 0 127 1 47 0 6 52 0 13 20 179 1 N. Carolina 14- 24 0 303 3 56 1 15 59 0 13 39 362 3 Duke 20- 32 0 259 3 53 2 12 31 0 12 44 290 3 NC State 15- 22 1 236 1 50 1 5 7 2 6 27 243 3 Virginia 11- 23 2 288 3 69 1 11 17 0 11 34 305 3 Florida State 8- 14 1 56 0 11 0 6 2 0 5 20 58 0 Maryland 11- 26 0 118 1 20 1 6 -15 0 1 32 103 1 Clemson 17- 32 0 190 0 28 3 16 37 1 14 48 227 1 Wake Forest 14- 19 1 192 2 51 0 6 29 0 7 25 221 2 Georgia 15- 24 2 170 1 55 2 15 54 0 17 39 224 1 Notre Dame#* 13- 22 0 237 3 55 1 10 19 0 8 32 256 3 * Also caught a five-yard touchdown pass
1999 Cmp-Att Int Yds TD LP S Att Yds TD LP Ply Yds TDR Navy 12- 17 0 139 2 40 1 11 39 1 10 28 178 3 Florida State 22- 25 0 387 4 80 3 18 18 1 19 43 405 5 Central Florida 12- 18 0 161 1 35 0 12 100 2 17 30 261 3 Maryland 19- 31 2 387 3 80 1 13 87 1 41 44 474 4 N. Carolina 14- 26 2 273 2 59 1 14 77 1 24 40 350 3 Duke 23- 34 0 324 2 50 0 16 63 0 17 40 387 2 NC State 16- 26 1 212 3 39 0 11 83 0 15 37 295 3 Virginia 18- 26 1 233 2 32 2 14 49 0 14 40 282 2 Clemson 22- 30 2 322 5 56 3 19 88 0 20 49 410 5 Wake Forest 23- 40 2 281 1 31 1 11 36 0 25 51 317 1 Georgia 22- 32 1 341 4 47 0 15 94 0 16 47 435 4 Miami# 20- 40 2 245 0 28 3 22 49 1 17 62 294 1
Game Started # Bowl game stats do not count in totals
joe hamiltons CAREER STATISTICS PASSING RUSHING TOTAL OFF Year G-GS Cmp- Att Int Pct Yds PG TD Rtg Att Yds TD LP Yds PG TDR 1996 10-9 108- 188 13 .574 1342 134.2 7 115.9 95 248 3 54 1590 159.0 10 1997 11-11 173- 268 7 .646 2314 210.4 12 146.6 140 478 5 61 2792 253.8 17 1998 11-11 145- 259 8 .560 2166 196.9 17 141.7 112 298 4 48 2464 224.0 21 1999 11-11 203- 305 11 .666 3060 278.2 29 175.0 154 734 6 41 3794 344.9 35 Total 43-42 629- 1020 39 .617 8882 206.6 65 148.2 501 1758 18 61 10,640 247.4 83
